King-maker cardinal hints at possibility of African pope

The prospect of an African as the next pope became more realistic after a powerful cardinal said it would be a "wonderful sign for all Christianity".

The Vatican's doctrinal chief, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, said on Wednesday that an African papacy would "only be to the church's benefit".

Cardinal Ratzinger, 74, is seen as a possible king-maker in the conclave that will eventually choose John Paul II's successor.

The Bavarian-born prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith told the German newspaper Die Welt that the church's African leaders had all the qualities required for the papacy.

"They are absolutely up to the level of such a position," he said. As a result, it was entirely plausible that the "next pope may come from there".");document.write("

advertisement

");
}
}
// -->

Yet Cardinal Ratzinger acknowledged that racism could prevent an African succession, and that there were still "great misgivings in the West about the Third World".

The most obvious African candidate for the papacy is Cardinal Francis Arinze, a 69-year-old Nigerian. Seen as a conservative figure, he leads four of the Vatican's congregations, three pontifical councils and two committees.

Cardinal Arinze has already occupied the Pope's throne - when he stood in for him at a ceremony to open an African synod.

The freshest African candidate is the newly created Cardinal Wilfred Fox Napier of Durban. A Franciscan and a moderate, he is a youthful 61, which may count against him. Another possible runner is Monseigneur Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya of Kisangani, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He is just 62 and not yet a cardinal, although technically that poses no barrier to the papacy. Italian cardinals hope that their country may regain the papacy next time after "losing" it for the first time in 456 years with the election in 1978 of the Polish-born Pope.

However, Italy's share of the College of Cardinals has plummeted to an all-time low of about 15 per cent. Half a century ago this was about 60 per cent.

Western Europe has also lost its domination of the College of Cardinals, giving way to Latin America, Africa, Asia and now also eastern Europe.

Most practising Catholics by far live in the developing world, and an African papacy is the logical outcome of this continuing trend. The Africans have an extra importance: namely, that the Catholic population in the continent has grown by 20 times since 1980.